Austin Price, Editor in Chief
DENVER, CO, Feb. 20, 2025 - New Paradigm Dance Theater (NPDT) will convene for their adjudication. In anticipation of NPDT’s Youth Company performing at Regional Dance America (RDA)’s MidStates Festival, the company will come together to present five choreographic works. NPDT’s Co-Artistic Directors, Julia Wilkinson Manley and Chris Harris, will lead the event. The adjudication will take place in the studios of Colorado Movement Lab (CML).
New Paradigm Dance Theater is a pioneer in the Denver dance community, being the first pre-professional, student based company in Colorado to join Regional Dance America, an important historical institution created in 1956 to foster the development of artful dance performance and education across the country. At their adjudication, NPDT will premiere five new works. The choreographers behind these pieces are NPDT’s Co-Artistic Directors, Julia Wilkinson Manley and Chris Harris, Morgan Sicklick of Wonderbound Dance Company, and NPDT’s Emerging Choreographers, Kerry Healy and Gillian Beauchamp.
NPDT’s Youth Company Adjudication will serve as preparation for RDA’s Festival, with former professional dancer of Kansas City Ballet, Charlie Martin, in attendance as adjudicator. Martin will review the choreographic pieces shown, and determine which of those works will be presented at the Festival later this spring. Martin will also offer mentorship, stage support, and direction to the choreographers and dancers.
NPDT’s Co-Artistic Director, Julia Wilkinson Manley says, “These young dancers have dedicated an intense amount of time preparing for this adjudication, learning five new works in just over eight weeks. They are not only building their stamina, but working to both amplify and solidify their work and artistry.” The adjudication is also a symbol of the shared values between NPDT and RDA, as both organizations provide a rare and invaluable opportunity for young artists to promote real, true, and raw art, without constraint.
AT A GLANCE
NEW PARADIGM DANCE THEATER
https://comovelab.com/new-paradigm-dance-theater/
720.336.1508
ABOUT NPDT:
New Paradigm Dance Theater is 501(c)3 non-profit, based in Westminster, CO. NPDT combines professionalism with a safe, non-judgmental, dancer-based focus. NPDT develops creative artists and thinkers of the future by creating an environment where dancers and choreographers can be vulnerable, question and break assumptions, and focus on creating their own pathway to artistry. NPDT encompasses three companies: Youth Company, Adult Company, and Empower Company.
Co-Artistic Directors Julia Wilkinson Manley & Chris Harris have extensive experience directing both adult productions and student performance companies. Through fostering artistic expression, vulnerability, and creativity, their goal is to create beautiful, intellectually stimulating and enjoyable art to bring audiences along with them in their explorations.